Spice Girls

The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). With their " girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade.

The Spice Girls were formed by Heart Management, who held auditions to create a girl group to compete with the British boy bands popular at the time. After leaving Heart, the Spice Girls hired Simon Fuller as their manager and signed with Virgin Records. They released their debut single, " Wannabe", in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries. Their debut album, ''Spice'' (1996), sold more than 23 million copies worldwide,References:

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• becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. Producing three more number-one singles: "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1" and "Who Do You Think You Are"/"Mama". Their second album, '' Spiceworld'' (1997), sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. The Spice Girls achieved three number-one singles from the album with " Spice Up Your Life", " Too Much" and "Viva Forever". Both albums encapsulated the group's dance-pop style and message of female empowerment, with vocal and songwriting contributions shared equally by the members.

In 1997, the Spice Girls made their live concert debut and released a feature film, '' Spice World'', both to commercial success. In 1998, the group embarked on the Spiceworld Tour, which was attended by an estimated 2.1 million people worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing concert tour by a female group. Halliwell left the Spice Girls mid-tour in May 1998. Following a number-one single with "Goodbye" (1998) and a successful 1999 concert tour, the Spice Girls released their R&B-influenced third album ''Forever'' in 2000. It featured their ninth number one single with "Holler"/" Let Love Lead the Way", setting a record for most UK number ones by a girl group of all time. By the end of 2000, the Spice Girls entered a hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. Since then, they have reunited for two concert tours: the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) as a five-piece and the Spice World – 2019 tour without Beckham, both of which won the ''Billboard'' Live Music Award for highest-grossing engagements, making the Spice Girls the top touring all-female group from 1998 to 2020. Also reuniting briefly in 2012 for a performance at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.

The Spice Girls have sold 100 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling girl group of all time, one of the best selling artists, and one of the most successful British pop acts since the Beatles. They received five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four ''Billboard'' Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. According to ''Rolling Stone'' journalist and biographer David Sinclair, they were the most widely recognised group since the Beatles. Notable elements of the Spice Girls' symbolism include Halliwell's Union Jack dress and the nicknames that were given to each member of the group by the British press. Numerous endorsement deals and merchandise brought the group additional success, with a global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998. According to the ''Music Week'' writer Paul Gorman, their media exposure helped usher in an era of celebrity obsession in pop culture.

History

1994–1995: Formation and early years

In the early 1990s, Bob and Chris Herbert, the father-and-son duo of Heart Management, decided to create a girl group to compete with the boy bands who dominated UK pop music at the time. With the financier Chic Murphy, they envisioned an act comprising "five strikingly different girls" who would each appeal to a different audience. In February 1994, Heart Management placed an advertisement in the trade paper ''The Stage'' asking for singers to audition for an all-female pop band at London's Danceworks studios. Approximately 400 women attended the audition on 4 March 1994. They were placed in groups of 10 and danced a routine to " Stay" by Eternal, followed by solo auditions in which they performed songs of their choice.

After several weeks of deliberation, Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Michelle Stephenson were among a dozen or so women who advanced to a second round of auditions in April. Chisholm missed the second audition after coming down with tonsillitis. Despite missing the first round of auditions, Geri Halliwell persuaded the Herberts to let her attend the second. A week after the second audition, Adams, Brown, Halliwell and Stephenson were asked to attend a recall at Nomis Studios in Shepherd's Bush, performing " Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" on their own and as a group. Chisholm was also invited as a last-minute replacement for another finalist. The five women were selected for a band initially named Touch.

The group moved into a three-bedroom house in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and spent most of 1994 practising songs written for them by Bob Herbert's long-time associates John Thirkell and Erwin Keiles. According to Stephenson, the songs were aimed at a very young audience, and none were later used by the Spice Girls. During these first months, the group worked on demos at South Hill Park Recording Studios in Bracknell with the producer and studio owner Michael Sparkes and the songwriter and arranger Tim Hawes. They were also tasked with choreographing their own dance routines, which they worked on at Trinity Studios in Knaphill, near Woking, Surrey. A few months into the training, Stephenson was fired for a perceived lack of commitment. Heart Management turned to the group's vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, to find a replacement. After Lemer's first recommendation declined the offer, Lemer recommended her former pupil Emma Bunton, who auditioned for the Herberts and joined as the fifth member.

As their training continued, the group performed small showcases for a few of Heart Management's associates. In one performance, they added a rap section they had written to one of Thirkell and Keiles' songs. Keiles was furious with the changes and insisted they learn to write songs properly. The group began professional songwriting lessons; during one session, they wrote a song called "Sugar and Spice" with Hawes, which inspired them to change their name to Spice.

Signing with Virgin Records

By late 1994, the group felt insecure, as they still did not have an official contract with Heart Management and were frustrated with the management team's direction. They persuaded Herbert to set up a showcase performance in front of industry writers, producers and A&R men in December 1994 at the Nomis Studios, where they received an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction. The Herberts quickly set about creating a binding contract for them. Encouraged by the reaction they had received at the Nomis showcase, all five members refused to sign the contracts on legal advice from, among others, Adams's father. In January, the group began songwriting sessions with Richard Stannard, whom they had impressed at the showcase, and his partner Matt Rowe. During these sessions the songs " Wannabe" and "2 Become 1" were written.

In March 1995, the group left Heart Management, feeling Heart was unwilling to listen to their ideas. To ensure they kept control of their work, they allegedly stole the master recordings of their discography from the management offices. The next day, the group tracked down the Sheffield-based songwriter Eliot Kennedy, who had been present at the Nomis showcase, and persuaded him to work with them. Through contacts they had made at the showcase, they were also introduced to the Absolute production team. With Kennedy and Absolute's help, the group spent the next several weeks writing and recording demos for the majority of the songs that would be released on their debut album, including "Say You'll Be There" and "Who Do You Think You Are". Their demos caught the attention of Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment, who signed them to his management company in May 1995.

By this point, industry buzz around Spice had grown and major record labels in London and Los Angeles were keen to sign them. After a bidding war, they signed a five-album deal with Virgin Records in July 1995. Fuller took them on an extensive promotional tour in Los Angeles, where they met with studio executives in the hopes of securing film and television opportunities. Their name was changed to the Spice Girls as a rapper was already using the name Spice. The new name was chosen as industry people often referred to them derisively as "the Spice girls". They continued to write and record tracks for their debut album.

1996–1997: Breakthrough

On 8 July 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut single " Wannabe" in the United Kingdom. In the weeks before the release, the music video received a trial airing on music channel the Box. It was an instant hit and was aired up to seventy times a week at its peak. After the video was released, the Spice Girls had their first live broadcast TV slot on LWT's '' Surprise Surprise''. Earlier in May, they had conducted their first music press interview with Paul Gorman, the contributing editor of trade paper ''Music Week'', at Virgin Records' Paris headquarters. His piece recognised that the Spice Girls were about to institute a change in the charts away from Britpop and towards out-and-out pop. He wrote: "Just when boys with guitars threaten to rule pop life— Damon's all over ''Smash Hits'', Ash are big in ''Big!'' and Liam can't move for tabloid frenzy—an all-girl, in-yer-face pop group have arrived with enough sass to burst that rockist bubble." "Wannabe" entered the UK Singles Chart at number three before spending the next seven weeks at number one. The song proved to be a global hit, hitting number one in 37 countries, including four consecutive weeks atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US, and becoming not only the best-selling debut single by an all-female group but also the best-selling single by an all-female group of all time.

Following the release of "Wannabe", an article in ''Top of the Pops'' magazine identified each Spice Girl with a unique nickname based on their personalities. Though unintended, the use of these nicknames became widespread and they were later adopted globally. Riding a wave of publicity and hype, the group released their next singles in Europe. In October, "Say You'll Be There" was released topping the charts for two weeks. "2 Become 1" was released in December, becoming their first Christmas number one and selling 462,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling single of the year. The two tracks continued the group's remarkable sales, giving them three of the top five best-selling songs of 1996 in the UK. In November 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut album ''Spice'' in Europe. The success was unprecedented and drew comparisons to Beatlemania, leading the press to dub it "Spicemania" and the group the "Fab Five". In seven weeks ''Spice'' had sold 1.8 million copies in Britain alone, making the Spice Girls the fastest-selling British act since the Beatles. In total, the album sold over 3 million copies in Britain, the best-selling album of all time in the UK by a female group,Every Hit
Best-Selling Albums of All Time
UK Database, ''Spice'' sold 2.9 million. certified ten times platinum, and reached number one for fifteen non-consecutive weeks. In Europe the album became the best-selling album of 1997 and was certified 8× Platinum by the IFPI for sales in excess of 8 million copies.

That same month, the Spice Girls attracted a crowd of 500,000 when they switched on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, London. At the same time, Fuller started to set up multi-million dollar sponsorship deals for the Spice Girls with Pepsi, Walkers, Impulse, Cadbury and Polaroid. The group ended 1996 winning three trophies at the ''Smash Hits'' awards at the London Arena, including best video for "Say You'll Be There".

International success

In January 1997, "Wannabe" was released in the United States. It proved to be a catalyst in helping the Spice Girls break into the US market when it debuted on the Hot 100 Chart at number eleven. At the time, this was the highest-ever debut by a non-American act, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for " I Want to Hold Your Hand", and the joint highest entry for a debut act alongside Alanis Morissette's "Ironic". "Wannabe" reached number one in the US for four weeks. In February, ''Spice'' was released in the US, and became the best-selling album of 1997 in the US, peaking at number one, and was certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of 7.4 million copies. The album was also included in the Top 100 Albums of All Time list by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) based on US sales. In total, the album sold over 23 million copies worldwide becoming the best-selling album in pop music history by an all-female group.

Later that month, the Spice Girls performed "Who Do You Think You Are" to open the 1997 Brit Awards, with Geri Halliwell wearing a Union Jack mini-dress that became one of pop history's most famed outfits. At the ceremony, the group won two Brit Awards; Best British Video for "Say You'll Be There" and Best British Single for "Wannabe". In March 1997, a double A-side of "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are" was released in Europe, the last from ''Spice'', which once again saw them at number one, making the Spice Girls the first group since the Jackson 5 to have four consecutive number one hits.

''Girl Power!'', the Spice Girls' first book, was launched later that month at Virgin Megastore. It sold out its initial print run of 200,000 copies within a day, and was eventually translated into more than 20 languages. In April, ''One Hour of Girl Power'' was released; it sold 500,000 copies in the UK between April and June to become the best-selling pop video ever, and was eventually certified thirteen times platinum. In May, '' Spice World'', a film starring the group, was announced by the Spice Girls at the Cannes Film Festival. The group also performed their first live UK show for the Prince's Trust benefit concert. At the show, they breached royal protocol when Brown and then Halliwell planted kisses on Prince Charles' cheeks and pinched his bottom, causing controversy. That same month, Virgin released '' Spice Girls Present... The Best Girl Power Album... Ever!'', a multi-artist compilation album compiled by the group. It reached number two on the UK Compilation Chart and was certified Gold by the BPI. At the Ivor Novello Awards, "Wannabe" won the awards for International Hit of the Year and Best-Selling British Single.

''Spice World'' began filming in June and wrapped in August. The film was to be set to the songs from the group's second studio album, but no songs had been written when filming began. The group thus had to do all the songwriting and recording at the same time as they were filming ''Spice World'', resulting in a gruelling schedule that left them exhausted. Among the songs that were written during this period was "Stop", the lyrics for which cover the group's frustrations with being overworked by their management.

In September, the Spice Girls performed "Say You'll Be There" at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and won Best Dance Video for "Wannabe". The MTV Awards came five days after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, with tributes paid to her throughout the ceremony. Chisholm stated, "We'd like to dedicate this award to Princess Diana, who is a great loss to our country." At the 1997 ''Billboard'' Music Awards, the group won four awards for New Artist of the Year, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Singles Group of the Year, ''Billboard'' 200 Group of the Year and ''Billboard'' 200 Album of the Year for ''Spice''.

''Spiceworld'' and feature film

In October 1997, the Spice Girls released the first single from their second album, ''Spiceworld,'' " Spice Up Your Life". It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, making it the group's fifth consecutive number-one single. That same month, the group performed their first live major concert to 40,000 fans in Istanbul, Turkey. Later, they launched the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal, then travelled to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela, who announced, "These are my heroes."

In November, the Spice Girls released ''Spiceworld''. It set a new record for the fastest-selling album when it shipped seven million copies over the course of two weeks. Gaining favourable reviews, the album went on to sell over 10 million copies in Europe, Canada, and the United States combined, and 14 million copies worldwide.

Criticised in the United States for releasing the album just nine months after their debut there, which gave the group two simultaneous Top 10 albums in the ''Billboard'' album charts, and suffering from over-exposure at home, the Spice Girls began to experience a media backlash. They were criticised for their number of sponsorship deals—more than 20—and their chart positions declined. Nevertheless, the Spice Girls remained the best-selling pop group of both 1997 and 1998.

On 7 November 1997, the Spice Girls performed "Spice Up Your Life" at the MTV Europe Music Awards and won the Best Group award. The morning of the performance, they fired Fuller and began managing themselves. To ensure a smooth transition, Halliwell allegedly stole a mobile phone from Fuller's assistant that contained the group's schedule and Fuller's business contacts. The firing was front-page news around the world. Many commentators speculated that Fuller had been the mastermind behind the group, and that the Spice Girls had lost their impetus and direction.

Later in November, the Spice Girls became the first pop group to host ITV's '' An Audience with...'' Their show was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the population. In December 1997, the second single from ''Spiceworld'', " Too Much", was released, becoming the Spice Girls' second Christmas number one and their sixth consecutive number-one UK single. That month, the Spice Girls launched a feature-length film, '' Spice World''. The world premiere, at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square, London, was attended by celebrities including Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry. The film was a commercial success but received poor reviews. The Spice Girls ended 1997 as the year's most played artist on American radio.'Spiceworld' Album Sales Jump, as Spice Girls' New Pop Vehicle Steadily Gains Velocity
. PR Newswire. 20 November 1997. Retrieved 18 February 2017.

1998: Spiceworld tour and Halliwell's departure

In January 1998, the Spice Girls attended the US premiere of ''Spice World'' at the Mann's Chinese Theatre. At the 1998 American Music Awards a few days later, they won the awards for Favorite Album, Favorite New Artist and Favorite Group in the pop/rock category. In February, they won a special award for overseas success at the 1998 Brit Awards, with combined sales of more than 45 million albums and singles worldwide. That night, the group performed their next single, "Stop", their first not to reach number one in the UK, entering at number two. On 24 February 1998, the Spice Girls embarked on the Spiceworld Tour, starting in Dublin, Ireland, before moving to mainland Europe and North America and returning to the UK for two performances at Wembley Stadium. Later that year, the Spice Girls sang on the official England World Cup song "(How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World", their last song with Halliwell until 2007.

On 31 May 1998, Halliwell announced her departure from the Spice Girls through her solicitor. The announcement was preceded by days of frenzied press speculation after Halliwell missed two concerts in Norway and was absent from a performance on '' The National Lottery Draws''. Halliwell first cited creative differences, and later said that she was suffering from exhaustion and disillusionment. Rumours of a power struggle with Brown circulated in the press. Halliwell's departure shocked fans and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the year, making news international headlines. The four remaining members were adamant that the group would carry on.

The North American leg of the Spiceworld Tour went on as planned, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 15 June, and grossing $93.6 million over 40 sold-out performances. The tour was attended by an estimated 2.1 million people over 97 shows with an estimated gross of $220-$250 million, the highest-grossing concert tour by a female group. It was accompanied by a documentary film, '' Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story''. "Viva Forever", the last single released from ''Spiceworld'', and became the Spice Girls' seventh UK's number-one. The video was made before Halliwell's departure and features all five members in stop-motion animated form.

While on tour in the United States, the Spice Girls wrote and recorded new material. They released a new song, "Goodbye", before Christmas in 1998. It was seen as a tribute to Halliwell, although parts of it had originally been written when Halliwell was still a part of the group. It became the Spice Girls' third consecutive Christmas number one, equalling the record previously set by the Beatles. In November, Bunton and Chisholm appeared at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards without their other bandmates, accepting two awards on behalf of the Spice Girls for Best Pop Act and Best Group. That year, Brown and Adams announced they were pregnant. Brown was married to the dancer Jimmy Gulzer and became known as Mel G for a brief period; she gave birth to their daughter Phoenix Chi in February 1999. Adams gave birth a month after to her son Brooklyn, whose father was the Manchester United footballer David Beckham. Later that year, she married Beckham in a highly publicised wedding in Ireland.

1999–2000: ''Forever'', solo work and hiatus

By 1999, Brown, Bunton, Chisholm, and former member Halliwell, had all released music as solo artists. They returned to the studio in August 1999 after an eight-month recording break. It was initially more pop-influenced, similar to their first two albums, and included production from Eliot Kennedy. The sound took on a more mature direction when American producers including Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis came on board to collaborate with the group.

In December 1999, the Spice Girls embarked on a UK tour, Christmas in Spiceworld, in London and Manchester, during which they showcased new songs from the third album. The eight-show tour was attended by more than 153,000 people, grossing $5.7 million in ticket sales. The first four shows, at Manchester Evening News Arena, grossed $2.6 million; the second portion of the tour saw the group play another four shows at Earls Court Arena, grossing $3.1 million. Earlier in the year, the Spice Girls recorded the song "My Strongest Suit" for ''Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida'', a concept album which became the musical '' Aida''. The Spice Girls performed again at the 2000 Brit Awards in March, where they received the Lifetime Achievement award. Halliwell attended but did not join her former bandmates on stage.

In November 2000, the Spice Girls released their third and final album, ''Forever.'' With an edgier R&B sound, it received lukewarm reviews. In the US, it reached number 39 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. In the UK, it was released the same week as Westlife's '' Coast to Coast'' and the chart battle was widely reported by the media; Westlife reached number one and the Spice Girls number two. The lead single, the double A-side "Holler"/" Let Love Lead the Way", became Spice Girls' ninth UK number one. However, it failed to enter the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart, instead reaching number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart and number 31 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The Spice Girls' only major performance of the single came at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards in November. In total, ''Forever'' sold over four million copies. The Spice Girls ceased promotional activities in December 2000, as they began an indefinite hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. They insisted that the group was not splitting.

2007–2008: Return of the Spice Girls and ''Greatest Hits''

On 28 June 2007, the Spice Girls, including Halliwell, held a press conference at the O₂ Arena revealing their intention to reunite for a worldwide concert tour, the Return of the Spice Girls. The plan to re-form had long been speculated by the media, with previous attempts by the organisers of Live 8 and Concert for Diana to reunite the group as a five-piece falling through. Each member of the group was reportedly paid £10 million ($20 million) to do the reunion tour. '' Giving You Everything'', an official documentary film about the reunion, was directed by Bob Smeaton and first aired on Australia's Fox8 on 16 December 2007, followed by BBC One in the UK on 31 December.

Ticket sales for the first London date of the Return of the Spice Girls tour sold out in 38 seconds. It was reported that over one million people signed up in the UK alone and over five million worldwide for the ticket ballot on the band's official website.BBC News
Fans snap up Spice Girls tickets
BBC. Retrieved 14 October 2007. Sixteen additional dates in London were added, all selling out within one minute. In the United States, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Jose shows also sold out, prompting additional dates to be added. It was announced that the Spice Girls would be playing dates in Chicago and Detroit and Boston, as well as additional dates in New York to keep up with the demand. The tour opened in Vancouver on 2 December 2007, with the Spice Girls performing to an audience of 15,000 people, singing 20 songs and changing outfits a total of eight times. Along with the tour sellout, the Spice Girls licensed their name and image to the supermarket chain Tesco.

The Spice Girls' comeback single, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)", was announced as the official Children in Need charity single for 2007 and was released 5 November. The first public appearance on stage by the Spice Girls occurred at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, where they performed two songs, 1998 single "Stop" and the lead single from their greatest hits album, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)". The show was filmed by CBS on 15 November 2007 for broadcast on 4 December 2007.Sage, Alexandria
Spice Girls strut down Victoria's Secret runway
Yahoo News. 16 November 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2007. They also performed both songs live for the BBC Children in Need telethon on 16 November 2007 from Los Angeles. The release of "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, making it the group's lowest-charting British single to date. The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart. On 1 February 2008, it was announced that due to personal and family commitments their tour would come to an end in Toronto on 26 February 2008, meaning that tour dates in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires were cancelled.

The tour was the highest-grossing concert act of 2007–2008, measured as the twelve months ending in April 2008. It produced $107.2 million in ticket sales and merchandising, with sponsorship and ad deals bringing the total to $200 million. The tour's 17-night sellout stand at the O₂ Arena in London was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, netting £16.5 million (US$33 million) and drawing an audience of 256,647, winning the 2008 ''Billboard'' Touring Award for Top Boxscore. The group's comeback also netted them several other awards, including the Capital Music Icon Award, the ''Glamour'' Award for Best Band, and the Vodafone Live Music Award for Best Live Return, the last of which saw them beat out acts such as Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols.

2010, 2012: ''Viva Forever!'' and London Olympics

At the 2010 Brit Awards, the Spice Girls received a special award for "Best Performance of the 30th Year". The award was for their 1997 Brit Awards performance of "Wannabe" and "Who Do You Think You Are", with Geri Halliwell and Mel B receiving the award from Samantha Fox on behalf of the group.

That year, the Spice Girls collaborated with Fuller, Judy Craymer and Jennifer Saunders to develop a stage musical, '' Viva Forever!''. Similar to the ABBA musical '' Mamma Mia!'', ''Viva Forever!'' used the group's music to create an original story. In June 2012, to promote the musical, the Spice Girls reunited for a press conference at the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, where the music video for "Wannabe" had been filmed exactly sixteen years earlier. They also appeared in the documentary ''Spice Girls' Story: Viva Forever!'', which aired on 24 December 2012 on ITV1. ''Viva Forever!'' premiered at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre in December 2012, with all five Spice Girls in attendance. It was panned by critics and closed after seven months, with a loss of at least £5 million.

In August 2012, the Spice Girls reunited to perform a medley of "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. Their performance received acclaim, and became the most-tweeted moment of the Olympics with over 116,000 tweets per minute on Twitter.

2016, 2018–2019: G.E.M and Spice World tour

On 8 July 2016, Brown, Bunton and Halliwell released a video celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Wannabe" and teased news from them as a three-piece. Beckham and Chisholm opted not to take part but gave the project their blessing. A new song, "Song for Her", was leaked online in November. The reunion project was cancelled due to Halliwell's pregnancy.

In late 2018 the Spice Girls officially
announced their second reunion tour, with tickets going on sale in November 2018. They also revealed they would do it as a four-piece without Beckham, as she declined to join due to commitments regarding her fashion business. Each of the four participating members was reportedly paid £12 million for the tour.

On 24 May 2019, they began the Spice World – 2019 Tour of the UK and Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. The tour concluded with three concerts at London's Wembley Stadium, with the last taking place on 15 June 2019. Over 13 dates, the tour produced 700,000 spectators and earned $78.2 million in ticket sales. The three-night sellout stand at Wembley Stadium was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, drawing an audience of 221,971 and winning the 2019 ''Billboard'' Live Music Award for Top Boxscore. Despite sound problems in the early concerts, Anna Nicholson in ''The Guardian'' wrote, "As nostalgia tours go, this could hardly have been bettered."

Alongside the tour, the group teamed up with the children's book franchise ''Mr. Men'' to create derivative products such as books, cups, bags and coasters. On 13 June 2019, it was reported that Paramount Animation had greenlit an animated Spice Girls film with old and new songs. The project will be produced by Simon Fuller and written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith. A director has not been announced.

2020–2024: Anniversary commemorations

To mark the 25th anniversary of "Wannabe", an EP was released in July 2021 that included previously unreleased demos. On 29 October, the Spice Girls released ''Spice25,'' a deluxe reissue of ''Spice'' featuring previously unreleased demos and remixes. The deluxe release saw the album reenter the UK Albums Chart at number five.

On 27 September 2022, the Spice Girls announced the tracklisting for ''Spiceworld25'', the 25th anniversary edition of their album ''Spiceworld''. The new collection features previously unreleased live versions and remixes, plus previously available B-sides "Walk of Life" and "Outer Space Girls" and a megamix. Their song "Step to Me" was released digitally for the first time ever on the same day as the album announcement. ''Spiceworld25'' was released on 4 November 2022 and charted at number 46 on the UK Albums Chart. To promote the reissue, new music videos for "Spice Up Your Life" and "Never Give Up on the Good Times" were also released.

The Royal Mail issued fifteen stamps from 11 January 2024 onwards to mark the 30th anniversary of the Spice Girls.

Artistry

Musical style

According to AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the Spice Girls "used dance-pop as a musical base, but they infused the music with a fiercely independent, feminist stance that was equal parts Madonna, post-riot grrrl alternative rock feminism, and a co-opting of the good-times-all-the-time stance of England's new lad culture." Their songs incorporated a variety of genres, which Halliwell described as a "melding" of the group members' eclectic musical tastes, but otherwise kept to mainstream pop conventions. Chisholm said: "We all had different artists that we loved. Madonna was a big influence and TLC; we watched a lot of their videos." A regular collaborator on the group's first two albums was the production duo known as Absolute, made up of Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins. Absolute initially found it difficult to work with the group as the duo was heavily into R&B music at the time, while the Spice Girls according to Wilson were "always very poptastic". Wilson said of the group's musical output: "Their sound was actually not getting R&B quite right."

In his biography of the band, '' Wannabe: How the Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame'' (2004), ''Rolling Stone'' journalist David Sinclair said that the "undeniable artistry" of the group's songs had been overlooked. He said the Spice Girls "instinctively had an ear for a catchy tune" without resorting to the "formula balladry and bland modulations" of 90s boy bands Westlife and Boyzone. He praised their "more sophisticated" second album, ''Spiceworld'', saying: "Peppered with personality, and each conveying a distinctive musical flavour and lyrical theme, these are songs which couldn't sound ''less'' 'manufactured,' and which, in several cases, transcend the pop genre altogether."

Lyrical themes

The Spice Girls' lyrics promote female empowerment and solidarity. Given the young age of their target audience, Lucy Jones of ''The Independent'' said the Spice Girls' songs were subversive for their time: "The lyrics were active rather than passive: taking, grabbing, laying it down – all the things little girls were taught never to do. 'Stop right now, thank you very much'. 'Who do you think you are?' 'I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want'." Musicologist Nicola Dibben cited "Say You'll Be There" as an example of how the Spice Girls inverted traditional gender roles in their lyrics, depicting a man who has fallen in love and displays too much emotion and a woman who remains independent and in control. The Spice Girls emphasised the importance of sisterhood over romance in songs such as "Wannabe", and embraced safe sex in "2 Become 1".

Lauren Bravo, author of ''What Would the Spice Girls Do?: How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up'' (2018), found that even when the Spice Girls sang about romance, the message was "cheerfully non-committal", in contrast to the songs about breakups and unrequited love other pop stars were singing at the time. Writing for '' Bustle'', Taylor Ferber praised the female-driven lyrics as ahead of their time, citing the inclusivity and optimism of songs such as "Spice Up Your Life" and the sex-positivity of "Last Time Lover" and "Naked". Ferber concluded: "Between all of their songs about friendship, sex, romance, and living life, a central theme in almost all Spice Girls music was loving yourself first."

Vocal arrangements

Unlike prior pop vocal groups, the Spice Girls shared vocals, rather than having a lead vocalist supported by others. The group did not want any one member to be considered the lead singer, and so each song was divided into one or two lines each, before all five voices harmonised in the chorus. The group faced criticism as this meant that no one voice could stand out, but Sinclair concluded that it "was actually a clever device to ensure that they gained the maximum impact and mileage from their all-in-it-together girl-gang image".

The Spice Girls' former vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, described their individual voices as distinct and easy to distinguish, citing the "lightness" of Bunton's voice and the "soulful sound" of Brown's and Chisholm's. Biographer Sean Smith cited Chisholm as the vocalist the group could not do without. Sinclair noted that while Chisholm's ad libs are a distinctive feature of certain Spice Girls songs, the difference in the amount of time her voice was featured over any other member was negligible.

While vocal time was distributed equally, musicologist Nicola Dibben found that there was an "interesting inequality" in the way that vocal styles were distributed within the group, which she felt conformed to certain stereotypes associated with race and socioeconomic background. According to Dibben, most of the declamatory style of singing in the group's singles were performed by Brown, the only black member, and Chisholm, whom Dibben classified as white working class; this was in contrast to the more lyrical sections allotted to Beckham, whom Dibben classified as white middle class.

Songwriting

The Spice Girls did not play instruments, but co-wrote all of their songs.''Spice'' (liner notes). Spice Girls. Virgin Records. 1996. CDV2812.'' Spiceworld'' (liner notes). Spice Girls. Virgin Records. 1997. CDV2850.''Forever'' (liner notes). Spice Girls. Virgin Records. 2000. 7243 8 50467 4 2. According to their frequent collaborator Richard Stannard, they had two approaches to songwriting: ballads were written in a traditional way with the group sitting around a piano, while songs such as "Wannabe" were the result of tapping into their "mad" energy. Eliot Kennedy, another regular co-writer, said that songwriting sessions with the Spice Girls were "very quick and short". He described his experience working with them:

What I said to them was, "Look, I've got a chorus—check this out." And I'd sing them the chorus and the melody—no lyrics or anything—and straight away five pads and pencils came out and they were throwing lines at us. Ten minutes later, the song was written. Then you go through and refine it. Then later, as you were recording it you might change a few things here and there. But pretty much it was a real quick process. They were confident in what they were doing, throwing it out there.

Absolute's Paul Wilson recalled an experience whereby he and Watkins were responsible for writing the backing track and the group would then write the lyrics. Watkins added: "I wasn't an 18-year-old girl. They always had this weird ability to come up with phrases that you'd never heard of." He said the members would create dance routines at the same time as writing songs, and that "They knew what they wanted to write about, right from day one. You couldn't force your musical ideas upon them."

From the onset, the Spice Girls established a strict 50–50 split of the publishing royalties between them and their songwriting collaborators. As with their vocal arrangements, they were also adamant on maintaining parity between themselves in the songwriting credits. Sinclair said:

The deal between themselves was a strict five-way split on their share of the songwriting royalties ''on all songs'' irrespective of what any one member of the group had (or had not) contributed to any particular song. Apart from ease of administration, this was also a symbolic expression of the unity which was so much part and parcel of the Spice philosophy.

Sinclair identified Halliwell as a major source of ideas for the Spice Girls' songs, including many of the concepts and starting points for the group's songs. Tim Hawes, who worked with the group when they were starting out, said Halliwell's strength was in writing lyrics and pop hooks, and estimated that she was responsible for 60–70% of the lyrics in the songs he worked on. The group's collaborators credit the other members of the group as being more active than Halliwell in constructing the melodies and harmonies of their songs. Matt Rowe, who wrote several songs with the Spice Girls, agreed that Halliwell was particularly good when it came to writing lyrics and credits the lyrics for "Viva Forever" to her. He felt that all five members had contributed equally to the songwriting.

Cultural impact and legacy

Pop music resurgence and girl group boom

The Spice Girls debuted at a time when alternative rock, hip-hop and R&B dominated global music charts. In the group's first interview in May 1996, Halliwell told ''Music Week'': "We want to bring some of the glamour back to pop, like Madonna had when we were growing up. Pop is about fantasy and escapism, but there's so much bullshit around at the moment." The modern pop phenomenon that the Spice Girls created by targeting early Millennials was credited with changing the music landscape by reviving the pop music genre, bringing about the global wave of late-1990s and early-2000s teen pop acts such as the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and NSYNC.

The Spice Girls have been credited with paving the way for the girl groups and female pop singers that have come after them. Unlike previous girl groups, such as the Andrews Sisters, whose target market was male record buyers, the Spice Girls targeted a young female fanbase. In the UK, they are further credited for disrupting the then male-dominated pop music scene. Prior to the Spice Girls, girl groups such as Bananarama had hit singles in the UK but their album sales were generally underwhelming. A common opinion within the British music industry at the time was that an all-girl pop group would not work because both girls and boys would find the concept too threatening. As a result, teen magazines such as ''Smash Hits'' and ''Top of the Pops'' initially refused to feature the Spice Girls.

The massive commercial success of the Spice Girls led to a boom of new girl groups in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Around 20 new girl groups were launched in the UK in 1999, followed by another 35 the next year. Groups that emerged during this period include All Saints, B*Witched, Atomic Kitten, Girl Thing, Girls@Play

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